Stocking and method of making the same



Aug. 4, 1970 D. A. E. MATTINGLY STOCKING AND METHOD OF MAKING THE SAME 3Sheets-Sheet l n Filed Nov. 30, 1967 FIG. 2.

j A D. A. E. MATTINGLY Aug. 4, 1970 3,522,717

STOCKING AND METHOD 0F MAKING THE SAME Filed Nov. 30. 1967 3Sheets-Sheet 2 F/G.3. M /0 Aug' 4- 1970 y D. A. E. MATTINGLY 35227"STOCKING AND METHOD 0F MAKING THE SAME Filed Nov. 30, 1967 3Sheets-Sheet 3 3,522,717 STOCKING AND METHOD F MAKING THE SAME DenisAlbert Edward Mattingly, London, England, as-

signor to The Klinger Manufacturing Company Limited, London, England, aBritish company Filed Nov. 30, 1967, Ser. No. 686,965 Int. Cl. A41b11/00 U.S. Cl. 66-178 20 Claims ABSTRACT 0F THE DISCLOSURE A stocking isknitted of crimped yarn of the kind formed by sharply bending yarn atintervals along its length through angles of at least 180 and settingthe yarn in this configuration. The bends which have been set in theyarn tend to persist in the stockings knitted from the yarn and theirpresence is believed to account for desirable characteristics in thestockings including a reduced tendency for the stockings to snag.

This application is a continuation-in-part of application Ser. No.563,874, filed July 8, 1966, now abandoned.

This invention relates to stockings and methods of making the same.

A problem arising in the manufacture and use of ladies stockings is thatof yarn snagging and rupturing and the resultant breakdown of the stitchformation along the wales of the stocking fabric including the rupture,to produce a run along the length of the stocking.

Attempts have been made to overcome this problem by knitting the yarninto the stocking in a stitch formation which will not run in the eventof a yarn rupture. This practice however involves using an intricatestitch construction which increased the cost of production of thestocking and results in a stocking which is often regarded as lessaesthetically pleasing than plain knit stockings.

It is an object of the present invention substantially to reduce theabove mentioned problem.

Another problem which arises, particularly in the knitting ofsheerstockings of nylon or polyester yarns, especially monofilamentyarns, is that the stockings exhibit an undesirable sheen and thatslight variation in size of the wales results in noticeable streaks orshadows.

In order to overcome these difficulties, it has previously been proposedto knit stockings of yarn which has been given a crinkled configurationby knitting the yarn into a sheet or tube of fabric, heating the fabricin a heated steam chamber and then cooling the fabric to set the yarn inits knitted configuration and unravelling the yarn from the fabric. Theresulting crinkled yarn is set generally in the configuration of theloops of the stitches in the sheet or tube of fabric and care has to betaken to ensure that this configuration is different in size or formfrom the configuration of the stitches to be adopted for the ultimatestockings, in order to avoid patterning in the stockings due tocoincidence in phase between the crinkled configuration and the stitchesof the stockings.

According to one aspect of the invention there is provided a stockingknitted at least in part from crimped yarn the yarn having been crimpedby being bent at periodic intervals along its length through sharpangles of at least 180" and crimp set in this configuration.

The bends in the yarn preferably have a radius of approximately thediameter of the yarn itself.

According to another aspect of the present invention a method of makinga stocking includes the step of knitting at least a portion of thestocking with yarn which has crimped at periodic intervals along itslengths through sharp angles of at least 180 and set in thisconfiguration.

The crimped yarn may incorporate, in the relaxed state,

lUnited States Patent O 3,522,717 Patented Aug. 4, 1970 ICC a series ofsharply angled uniform V-like shapes each having one side longer thanthe other. The general plane of each V-like shape may be disposed at anacute angle to a medial plane running in the general lengthwisedirection of the yarn, and the longer side of each V-like shape mayyhave a slight bend approximately midway along its length.

The longer side of each V-like shape may be approximately twice thelength of the shorter side.

The crimped yarn may comprise yarn crimped by being knitted into a chainof stitches in each of which the yarn passes through a loop of 360, setin its knitted configuration Whilst subjected to a tension sufiicient topull the chain tight so that the yarn passes through two sharp 180 bendsin each 360 loop, and then unravelled from the chain.

We have found that stockings, or any part thereof incorporating the yarnof the kind specified have a substantially reduced tendency to snag,and, where the stitch formation is capable of runningf the stockingshave a substantially reduced tendency to run, compared with stockingshaving a corresponding stitch configuration and incorporating fiat yarn,or even yarn crimped in other ways.

We believe that the stockings of the invention have a reduced tendencyto snag, because a proportion of the loops each include a portion ofyarn having at least one sharp angled bend, and any such loops which mayprotrude slightly from the general surface of the stocking tend to havea spike-like form with one of said sharp angled bends forming the spikeapex. The length of yarn forming each spike-like protruding looptherefore encloses a smaller area than it would if the loops weresubstantially circular and it is believed to be for this reason thatsharp objects or abrasive surfaces are less: likely to catch in the loopthan would be the case with stockings not incorporating yarn of such acrimp configuration, so that the likelihood of breakage iscorrespondingly reduced.

We believe runs are less likely to occur because, in the event of theyarn breaking at any particular point, the sharply bent angular natureof the crimped yarn will tend to prevent the broken yarn slipping freelyout of its knitted configuration, each angular portion of the yarnacting like a hook and engaging hookwise with adjacent parts of thestocking so that the stitches around the broken yarn tend to retaintheir form thus preventing the likelihood of the formation of a run Itis not necessary for every stitch in the stocking or part formed of thecrimped yarn to include a sharply bent portion of the yarn. I have foundthat a suitable ratio is 0.5 bend per stitch but this ratio may beincreased to one or more bends per stitch with advantage, or may bedecreased to 0.25 or even 0.2 lbend per stitch while still obtaininggood results.

The yarn used preferably has at least five sharp bends per inch and yarnhaving twenty or more bends per inch may be used. I prefer to use yarnhaving about twelve bends per inch.

The crimped yarn used in accordance with the invention may be eithermonofilament yarn or plural filament yarn formed of heat settablethermoplastics material such as nylon or polyester.

In order that the invention may Ibe more fully understood reference willnow be made to the accompanying drawings in which:

`FIG. 1 illustrates a portion of a stocking knitted from crimped yarn inaccordance with the invention at 7 X magnification;

FIG. 2 illustrates the stocking of FIG. 1 but with a magnification of10X;

FIG. 3 illustrates a portion of a stocking knitted from fiat, uncrimpedyarn with a magnification of 7X for comparison with the stocking ofFIGS. 1 and 2;

FIG. 4 illustrates the stocking of FIG. 3 with a magnification of X;

FIG. 5 illustrates' crimped yarn of the kind from which the stocking ofFIGS. l and 2 are knitted; and

FIG. 6 is a view in the direction of the arrow A of the yarn of FIG. 5.

The stocking shown in part in FIGS. 3 and 4 was knitted from deniermonofilament llat nylon yarn on a 400 needle circular knitting machinewith single feed. As can be seen the stocking was knitted with a plainknitting stitch formation. As is common practice, the welts, toes andheels of the stocking (not shown) were knitted from denier false-twistcrimped nylon yarn.

It is clear that should a loop, such as the loop 10 in FIG. 4, protrudefrom the general level of the stocking, this loop, due to the fact thatit has a relatively large radiused formation, being nearly circular, andtherefore encloses an area which is nearly the maximum possible for thelength of yarn forming the loop, will be liable to catching andsnagging, with possible consequent rupturing of the yarn, by sharpobjects or abrasive surfaces.

Again in the event of a rupture of the yarn occurring in, for example,loop 10, the large radius smoothly curved bends in the yarn will providelittle resistance to the formation of a run from the rupture along thewales adjacent the rupture both in the direction of arrow 11 and arrow12 under the influence of only slight tension in the stocking.

The stocking embodying the invention illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2 wasknitted in exactly the same manner and on exactly the same kind ofmachine as the stockings in FIGS. 3 and 4. In this case however the yarnfrom which the stocking was knitted had previously been permanentlycrimped by being knitted into a continuous chain of crochet stitches ofsingle stitch width, subjected on the run and whilst under tension to aheat setting operation, so that the yarn was set in a tight knittedconfiguration in which the yarn turned through two 180 sharp bends ineach stitch, and then unravelled on the run and wound on to a package toprovide the supply yarn for the stockings. The yarn was -knitted intosaid continuous chain of stitches with a stitch length suiicient toprovide a crimped yarn having 12 of said sharp bends per inch.

An example of yarn crimped in this manner is shown in side-view in FIG.5. As will be seen the yarn is formed rby a series of uniform waves 13,of V-like shape, one side 14 of each wave being approximately twice thelength of the other side 15. Also, the longer side 14 has a slight bend16 about midway along its length. The plane of V- shaped wave lies at aslight angle to the general line of the crimped yarn as can be seen fromFIG. 6.

As can be seen from FIGS. 1 and 2 the yarn in the stocking includesnumerous sharp bends 17 corresponding to the sharp bends 18 and 19 inthe crimped yarn of FIG. 5. These sharp bends, in addition to the snagand run resistant features discussed hereinbelow, also have the effectof distorting the stocking stitches and breaking up the stitch patternof the stocking, with a pleasing aesthetic result. This feature has thepractical advantage also of minimizing stocking defects due to verticalstriping and spirality of the knitted stocking.

It will be seen from FIG. 2 that should a loop, such as loop 20,protrude slightly from the general level of the stocking it will enclosea much smaller area than the corresponding loop 10 of FIG. 4 because ofthe sharp bend 17. Hence there is smaller risk of such a loop catchingand snagging.

In any event, should the yarn rupture in the stocking, the sharp bendsin the yarn will tend to grip other yarns of other parts of the sameyarn in the vicinity of the yarn rupture and considerably reduce theslippage of the yarn through the stocking fabric, thus tending toprevent the formation of a run.

I claim:

1. A stocking having at least a part knitted of crimped yarn, said yarnincorporating in the relaxed state a series of sharply angled, uniformV-like shapes having a short side and a long side.

2. A stocking according to claim 1, in which the general plane of eachV-like shape is disposed at an acute angle to a medial plane running inthe general lengthwise direction of the yarn.

3. A stocking according to claim 2, in which the longer side of eachV-like shape has a slight bend approximately midway along itsI length.

4. A stocking according to claim 3, in which the shorter side of eachV-like shape is straight.

5. A stocking according to claim 4, in which the longer side of eachV-like shape is approximately twice the length of the shorter side.

6. A stocking according to claim 1 wherein the yarn has at least vecrimps per inch.

7. A stocking according to claim 1 wherein the yarn has five to twentycrimps per inch.

S. A stocking according to claim 1 wherein the yarn has twelve crimpsper inch.

9. A stocking according to claim 1 having at least 0.2 crimp per stitch.

10. A stocking according to claim 1 having 0.2 to one crimp per stitch.

11. A stocking according to claim 1 comprising at least a part -knittedin plain stitches of said crimped yarn.

12. A stocking according to claim 11 wherein the loops of said plainstitches are of spike-like shape.

13. A method of making a knitted stocking comprising knitting at least apart of the stocking of crimped yarn, said yarn incorporating in therelaxed state a series of sharply angled, uniform V-like shapes having ashort side and a long side, said yarn having at least 5 crimps per inchand the stocking being so knitted that each stitch includes at least 0.2crimp.

14. A method according to claim 13, in which the general plane of eachV-like shape is disposed at an acute angle to a medial plane running inthe general lengthwise direction of the yarn.

15. A method according to claim 14, in which the longer side of eachV-like shape has a slight bend approximately midway along its length.

16. A method according to claim 15, in which the shorter side of eachV-like shape is straight.

17. A method according to claim 16, in which the longer side of eachV-like shape is approximately twice the length of the shorter side.

18. A method according to claim 13 wherein the said part is knitted inplain stitches.

19. A method according to claim 13 in which the yarn has from five totwenty crimps per inch and the stocking is knitted so that each stitchincludes from 0.2 to 1.0 crimp.

20. A method according to claim 13 in which the yarn has about twelvecrimps per inch and the stocking is knitted so that each stitch includesabout 0.5 crimp.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,601,451 6/1952 Page `66--178LOUIS K. RIMRODT, Primary Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 66-202

